Title: Harry Potter and the Fifth House
Author: Christine Morgan
Rating: M
Genre: General
Pairing: H/Hr
Status: Complete
Summary: A student is Sorted into a House no one's ever heard of, opening the way to a new mystery. But will girls and naughty pictures prove too distracting? Mature eyes only. Very long: 53,000 words.
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/578014/1/

This author's written two major HP fics, and I've enjoyed them both. This one's a blend of mystery, romance and humor.

The mystery has an Agatha Christie quality to it, which I like.
The romance is also pretty light and avoids both angsting and sudden professions of love. There's also a seedy little Pansy-Malfoy scene that's great.

The only downside to the story is the lack of action/horror. I prefer stories with gore, preferably when Harry's doing the goring. There's a magical combat class, but it's only touched upon, and, while there's a bad guy and conflict, the resolution comes together a bit too easily.

There's also no Voldemort and no Death Eaters, and the story isn't interested in advancing the ongoing Harry vs. Voldemort plotline.

I also think the writing's pretty good.

There's also a series of vignettes in the story that have no purpose but which are amusing in their own right.

Okay...I like it, but I just can't read the damned thing >_< The formatting is so damned terrible that it actually hurts to keep reading. I plowed through the first five chapters or so, but I had to stop because I've got a goddamned headache now. >_<

I don't see the Agatha Christie-ness of it. Maybe the Poirot-ness, or the Miss Marple-ness, but not Agatha Christie-ness.

Moving on, I liked the first chapter, in which Marge brings her new beau over, just to have it turn out that it's Lockhart. She was so lucky he was Obliviated; otherwise she couldn't have stopped him from wanking in front of mirrors. Unfortunately for Marge, the mere mention of Harry Potter brings him right out of it.

Actually I thought that part was rather funny. I have a hard time seeing Lockheart hooking up with marge though, especally considering the description of her in the Books. The Idea of another House was pretty decent, but as the others said the formatting was only so-so... all in all I'd give it about a 3.5/5
I'd rate it at 4, but the formatting really does get to you after a couple of chapters.

as for Informing the author... I tried a couple of months ago, the response I go back was, um, Less then pleasent, and probably not Physically possible, but I got the impression that there had been a recent influx of complaints about it so...